1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to playground equipment, specifically equipment for the activities of climbing and traversing.
2. Description of Prior Art
The activity of climbing has gained a great deal of popularity in the last few years, and as a result, there is a demand for safe and versatile climbing structures for use in public places such as school playgrounds, municipal facilities etc. Several manufacturers produce climbing structures, but in most cases they are either too high to be safe for unattended use, or they are lacking in versatility and adaptability.
Climbing structures fall into two general categoriesxe2x80x94skeletal structures and featured surface structures. In the first category are found the traditional jungle gym and rambling structures such as Munger #3814416 as well as geometric structures such as Rudy #4097043 and Safferthwaite #4603853. Another type of skeletal climber uses flexible climbing elements such as rope ladders and Huberman #5330400. This skeletal type of equipment provides a kind of xe2x80x98tree climbingxe2x80x99 environment where the user grasps the ladder-like climbing elements with the full hand and ascends or swings from point to pointxe2x80x94a type of climbing that is fundamentally different from xe2x80x98rock-climbingxe2x80x99 where the user grasps protrusions or indented features on a flat or undulating surface. In the second category of featured surface structures are found large-scale walls such as Savigny #5254058 which for safety reasons are not suitable for playground use, smaller units such as Robinson #5941041 and Baxter #4546965 which are limited in variety and adaptability, and panels added onto larger structures such as Zheng #6082386 and Katy #6095950 which are generally too small for an extended climbing experience and also lack variety.
Accordingly, the present invention, which in this document we call the xe2x80x98climbing unitxe2x80x99, offers several objects and advantages which are:
(a) to provide a climbing environment of the xe2x80x98rock climbingxe2x80x99 type with featured surfaces and a maze-like structure that can be easily altered to a new plan, thus providing variety and continued interest;
(b) to provide a climbing environment with a large climbing area that is of limited height and promotes traversing (sideways climbing) thus providing for an extended safe climbing experience;
(c) to provide a climbing unit that is modular and can be installed in groups of various numbers in order to provide an appropriately-sized climbing facility;
(d) to provide a climbing environment that is suitable for childhood games, such as tag, hide-and-seek, and follow-the-leader;
(e) to provide a climbing environment that can be adapted to various types of climbing style, such as is found with rope climbing and jungle gyms as well as featured-wall climbing;
(f) to provide a playground facility that is visually attractive and presents a dramatic sculptural appearance that changes with the angular adjustment of the climbing units;
(g) to provide a climbing unit that can be easily pivoted to different orientations, but can be locked into a desired orientation if required to prevent unauthorized tampering.